The Field and Garden Vegetables of America Part 103

ELECAMPANE.

Inula helenium.

A hardy, herbaceous, perennial plant, introduced from Europe, but growing spontaneously in moist places, by roadsides, and in the vicinity of gardens where it has been cultivated. Stem from three to five feet high, thick and strong, branching towards the top; the leaves are from nine inches to a foot in length, ovate, toothed on the margin, downy beneath; the flowers are yellow, spreading, and resemble a small sunflower; the seeds are narrow, four-sided, and crowned with down.

The plants blossom in July and August, and there is but one variety cultivated.

_Propagation and Culture._--It is generally propagated by dividing the roots; but may be grown from seeds, which are sown just after ripening.

The plants should be set in rows two feet asunder, and a foot from each other in the rows.

_Use._--Elecampane is cultivated for its roots, which are carminative, sudorific, tonic, and alleviating in pulmonary diseases. They are in their greatest perfection when of two years' growth.

h.o.a.rHOUND.

Marrubium vulgare.

h.o.a.rhound is a hardy, herbaceous, perennial plant, introduced from Europe, and naturalized to a considerable extent in localities where it has been once cultivated. Stem h.o.a.ry, about two feet high; leaves round-ovate; flowers white; seeds small, of an angular-ovoid form and grayish-brown color.

_Propagation and Cultivation._--The plant prefers a rich, warm soil; and is generally propagated by dividing its long, creeping roots, but may also be raised from seeds. When once established, it will grow almost spontaneously, and yield abundantly.

_Gathering and Use._--The plants are cut for use as they come into flower; and, if required, the foliage may be cut twice in the season.

The leaves possess a strong and somewhat unpleasant odor, and their taste is "bitter, penetrating, and durable." The plant has long been esteemed for its efficacy in colds and pulmonary consumption.

HYSSOP.

Hyssopus officinalis.

Hyssop is a hardy, evergreen, dwarfish, aromatic shrub, from the south of Europe.

Three kinds are cultivated, as follow:--

COMMON OR BLUE-FLOWERING.

More generally found in gardens than either of the following varieties.

The stems are square and tender at first, but afterwards become round and woody; the leaves are opposite, small, narrow, with six or eight bract-like leaves at the same joint; the flowers are blue, in terminal spikes; seeds small, black, oblong.

RED-FLOWERING HYSSOP.

Quite distinct from the Common or Blue-flowering. The stem is shorter, the plants are more branching in their habit, and the spikes more dense or compact; flowers fine red. It is not so hardy as the White or the Blue Flowering, and is often injured by severe winters.

WHITE-FLOWERING HYSSOP.

This is a sub-variety of the Common Blue-flowering; the princ.i.p.al if not the only mark of distinction being its white flowers. Its properties, and modes of culture, are the same.

_Soil and Cultivation._--The plants require a light, warm, mellow soil; and are propagated from seeds, cuttings, or by dividing the roots. The seeds are sown in April; and, when the seedlings are two or three inches high, they are transplanted to rows eighteen inches apart, and a foot from each other in the rows. The roots may be divided or the slips set in spring or autumn.

_Use._--The plant is highly aromatic. The leaves and young shoots are the parts used, and are cut, dried, and preserved as other pot-herbs.

"Hyssop has the general virtues ascribed to aromatic plants; and is recommended in asthmas, coughs, and other pulmonary disorders."--_Rog._

LICORICE.

Glycyrrhiza glabra.

Licorice is a hardy, perennial plant. The roots are fleshy, creeping, and, when undisturbed, attain a great length, and penetrate far into the earth; the stem is herbaceous, dull-green, and about four feet high; leaves pinnate, composed of four or five pairs of oval leaflets; flowers pale-blue, in terminal spikes. The fruit consists of short, flattened pods, each containing two or three kidney-shaped seeds.

_Soil, Propagation, and Culture._--"Licorice succeeds best in deep, rich, rather sandy, or in alluvial soil. The ground should be well enriched the year previous to planting: and it should either be trenched three feet deep in autumn, laid in ridges, and allowed to remain in that state till spring; or it may be trenched immediately before planting.

The former method is the preferable one.

"Licorice is propagated by portions of the creeping stem (commonly termed 'the creeping root'), from four to six inches in length, each having two or three buds. These are planted in March or April, or as soon as the ground can be well worked, in rows three feet apart, and eighteen inches from each other in the rows; covering with earth to the depth of two or three inches. Every year, late in autumn, when the sap has gone down and the leaves have turned yellow, the old stems should be cut down with a pruning-knife to a level with the ground. At this time, also, the creeping stems are forked up, cut off close to the main stems, and preserved in sand, or in heaps covered with straw and earth, for future plantations. The roots will be ready for taking up three years after planting. This should be done towards winter, after the descent of the sap. A trench three feet must then be thrown out, and the roots extracted; after which, they may be stored in sand for use."--_Thomp._

_Use._--The roots are the parts of the plant used, and these are extensively employed by porter-brewers. "The sweet, mucilaginous juice extracted from the roots by boiling is much esteemed as an emollient in colds."

PENNYROYAL.

Hedeoma pulegioides.

The American Pennyroyal is a small, branching, annual plant, common to gravelly localities, and abounding towards autumn among stubble in dry fields from whence crops of wheat or rye have been recently harvested.

The stem is erect, branching, and from six to twelve inches high; the leaves are opposite, oval, slightly toothed; flowers bluish, in axillary cl.u.s.ters; seeds very small, deep blackish-brown.

_Sowing and Cultivation._--In its natural state, the seeds ripen towards autumn, lie dormant in the earth during winter, and vegetate the following spring or summer. When cultivated, the seeds should be sown soon after ripening, as they vegetate best when exposed to the action of frost during winter. They are sown broadcast, or in drills ten or twelve inches asunder. When the plants are in full flower, they are cut off, or taken up by the roots, and dried in an airy, shaded situation.

_Use._--Pennyroyal possesses a warm, pungent, somewhat aromatic taste, and is employed exclusively for medical purposes. An infusion of the leaves is stimulating, sudorific, tonic, and beneficial in colds and chills.

This plant must not be confounded with the Pennyroyal (_Mentha pulegium_) of English writers, which is a species of Mint, and quite distinct from the plant generally known as Pennyroyal in this country.

POPPY, OR MAW.

Papaver somniferum, var. nigrum.

A hardy annual, growing naturally in different parts of Europe, and cultivated to a considerable extent in Germany for its seeds, which, under the name of "Maw-seed," are an article of some commercial importance. Stem five or six feet high, branching; leaves smooth, glaucous, clasping, and much cut or gashed on the borders; flowers large, terminal, purple and white; the bud pendent, or drooping, until the time of flowering, when it becomes erect. The petals soon fall to the ground, remaining on the plant but a few hours after their expansion; and are succeeded by large, roundish heads, or capsules, two inches and upwards in diameter, filled with the small, darkish-blue seeds for which the plant is princ.i.p.ally cultivated.